Chapter 16: It can't be helpedThe sun was shining cheerfully, early in the morning, birds chirping their happy songs. Reina sat with her head in her hands, quite hungover from her impromptu game of ‘Catch up with Ai’ the night before. She was quite tempted to down the bottle of aspirin in her pocket, sure that having her stomach pumped later could not possibly be as painful as what she was feeling right now. Alas, she could not afford the trip to the hospital, as she had a very important meeting this early morning.
“Can I get anything else for you, miss?” the cute waitress asked her in concern.
“Well, unless you sell hangover remedies here, just keep the milk coming.” Reina said, smiling weakly at her. She was quite pretty, but Reina didn’t even have it in her to flirt. Normally, she would turn on her considerable charms as a way to pass the time and if the girl responded to her in a way she liked, she would pass her number as she left. Though, not many women really tweaked her interest like that. Sayumi’s face flashed in her mind for a moment before she shook her head to rid herself of the image.
That was the last thing she needed in her mind today, that vexing con truly bothered her. Though sometimes they had a lot of fun together, when Sayu wasn’t teasing her like no tomorrow, for the most part, all she wanted to do was hit the girl. Among other things, but, again, she really didn’t need that in her mind today.
Today was big for her. The person she was supposed to meet, she hadn’t seen for ages and now, she was being thrust into conflict with him. She began to worry, belatedly realizing just what was about to happen. If this didn’t go well, at worst, her life could be in danger. Shaking her head, Reina felt her second thoughts begin to take over and was just about to leave, when the door to the café opened.
Inside stepped a giant of a man, big and wide, with arms like logs and a build like a refrigerator. Reina felt her breath catch in mixed happiness and apprehension as he looked around the small shop, before his eyes settled on hers. For a long moment, they locked eyes and his expression became unreadable, but after that passed, he grinned widely and rushed over to her.
“Reina!” He boomed and wrapped his meaty arms around her, lifting her clear out of her seat and engulfing her tiny frame in a bear hug, “Oh, Princess, I missed you.” he said a little more quietly, his deep bass still carrying across the café.
The cop couldn’t help but laugh joyfully at the familiar feeling of being in her father’s arms again. His voice rumbled in her chest when he spoke and his constant warmth filled her small form with comfort, just as it always had. For the first time in a long time, Reina felt truly safe from the evils of the world.
“Daddy.” she murmured, burying her head in his chest as he swung her around, feeling tears well up in her eyes. Finally, he set her down, both shining in happiness at being together once again.
“I’m so glad you called me, Princess, I’ve been missing you something fierce.” He set a small box on the table, “I know it’s a little late, but twenty’s an important number to turn, so I got you a little something.” Another box was set next to it, “And this one’s for Christmas.”
Reina eagerly opened the first box, forgetting for a moment why she had called this meeting. Inside the unassuming box was a set of car keys. “You bought me a car, daddy?” she asked, slightly stunned.
“Yup. It’s waiting for you in the parking lot.” He beamed at her as she tore into the other box, pulling out a small jewelry case. “You still like crosses, right?”
“I do, dad.” Reina breathed out as she picked up the delicate chain. The charm itself seemed a little worn with age and she examined it reverently. “Was this?”
“Yes, it was your mother’s. She asked me to give it to you when you were born, but I put it away and didn’t come across it until recently, but I figured it was perfect for this occasion. And before you ask, the car was obtained with legal money, so you don’t have to worry about that, since I know you don’t like that kind of stuff anymore.” He went behind her to place the necklace gently around her neck and all at once, Reina’s objective for this meeting came back to her.
“I don’t think I can accept this stuff, daddy.” She shook her head sadly as he sat back down across from her.
“I’m not trying to bribe you, if that’s what your implying. It’s just a gift from a father to his daughter. It’s not going to change the outcome of this meeting.” His face change to one Reina had rarely seen directed at her, “You want me to surrender.” he stated in a business like manner.
“Yes.” She replied simply.
“The answer’s no and I know you won’t give this up willingly, so I won’t even ask. I would like to, though, surrender, that is.” He surprised her with his last statement, “I can’t just give it up, though. Your brothers are already beginning to fight each other over who will take my place and if I simply give up to you, there will be a lot of opposition. I don’t think either of us can afford that.”
“If we fight, there will be just as much opposition, if not more.” Reina pleaded, placing her small hands over one of his large paws.
“My Princess, my favored child, I would have given this to you if you had stayed, I would have named you my successor easily, but now, since you have ousted yourself, you will have to earn my throne. It will not be an easy path and I will not let anyone go easy on you. I have faith that you and I will meet soon enough in battle.” he spoke formally, eyes welling with tears. His free paw patted Reina’s head as he smiled sadly at her, his massive hand nearly engulfing her head, “You look more and more like your mother every time I see you.”
With those last words, he stood up, dropped a bill on the table and left. Reina looked down, eyes closed tightly against the tears that threatened to fall. Why couldn’t she just hate the man? It would be so much easier to fight him if she could just find it in her to be angry at him.
Giving her head a shake, and wincing in pain, Reina looked down at what he had left on the table; a 10,000 yen note. Figuring that would more than cover her small bill, the cop got up from her seat and headed for the door. As soon as she stepped outside, keys in hand, she saw her present. A cute little, light blue coup sat in the parking lot, a pink bow on it’s hood and blue decals on the side of the numbers 017. Chuckling, Reina sniffled and climbed into the car. She might as well enjoy it.
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Aika sighed as she lay in one of the guest bedrooms at the manor. She didn’t want to get up, though she had been awake for almost an hour now, and she just couldn’t seem to muster up the willpower to climb out from her cozy cocoon. Now, for anyone else, this behavior might be considered normal, but this was the habitually early rising Mitsui. The past few weeks had been like this, sleeping in late and not wanting to face to the day, to the point where she’d started having her meals in the room.
She knew, rationally, that this behavior was childish and borderline unhealthy, but whatever courage she’d felt that had originally brought her out of her depression long enough to defeat Takashi had left her. Every time she walked the halls of the manor, she swore she could feel the stares bore into the back of her head. To her, it seemed as if everyone knew what had almost happened to her and that she had been to careless to stop it. That if she hadn’t been so overconfident in her abilities to protect herself, that maybe it might not have turned out the way it had.
She shivered in disgust as, once again, she felt hands roughly caressing her body and she had to tell herself that it wasn’t real, that it was just a figment of her memories. In an effort to think of something else, her mind brought up her last major failure; the day she was caught and dragged into this whole mess.
Her contact had requested a small shipment of diamonds that had come into the country earlier that day and was set to leave again the next morning. The premise was easy, her intel solid, and the security was weak, so Aika foresaw no problems. It was just another day at work to her and the man was offering about twice what the diamonds were actually worth.
The high profit should have tipped her off at first that this wasn’t a regular heist and maybe she should take her time with it, but the thief ignored her instincts and hit the vault as soon as the business day was over. What little security that was in the vault was highly lethal and it was only by the skin of her teeth that Aika had escaped alive, sans what she had came for. If only she had just taken the time to do a little research on the place, she wouldn’t have gotten caught in such a rookie mistake. The memory of being chased from rooftop to rooftop was still fresh in her mind and the scars from her rough treatment were just now going away. Her pride burned and Aika rolled over in an attempt to clear the pain from her chest.
She decided to think about her new friends. About Risa, laying in a coma down the hall and the strong, but breaking Ai at her bedside. About Lin Lin and her ever present smile, cracking bad jokes and puns at every chance she got and doing her best to be cheerful, even though Aika could tell that she felt utterly alone. Sayu, the poisoned tongue con and Eri, who’s smile truly scared her. About Reina and her scowling face, but smiling eyes, an unlikely ally to the law. And finally, Jun, who so reminded her of her beloved older sister.
Young Aika clung to her sister’s bloodstained pants leg, watching as fire engulfed their house. She wasn’t sure why she was crying, but she was sobbing like the child she was into her sister’s limp embrace. The older was currently focused on their third companion, a tall, slender woman who was coved in soot.
“I know that it’s not really any of my business, but I can’t stand to see such a horrid man hurting his children when he should be treasuring them. Maybe it might bring you some trouble, but I’ll put you under Tanaka-dono’s protection for now. I’ve got a safe house you guys can live at and I’ll teach you to make your own living. Let’s go.” Throughout the long walk, her sister made sure that she was in a position to protect Aika like it was an instinct, without any though.They had trained under that woman for a while and then were given a simple assignment; acquire a ring without the use of money from a man who had no intention of giving it up. Aika’s sister failed, barely getting away, but Aika showed a knack for thievery, and obtained the item in no time.
“Very good, little bug.” Yajima Erino, their savior, smiled down at the young Aika, patting her on the head as the girl presented the ring to her, “You took to my lessons quicker than any student I’ve ever had. I’ll make sure you’re well paid for your efforts.” the woman promised as she took the prize and left.
“I did it, Onee-chan! I took that man’s ring!” Aika bragged to her sister as the door shut. In her excitement, she didn’t notice that the older seemed less than pleased about her accomplishment. Their life had continued on in the same manner for a while, taking jobs from Erino until such time that they found their own fence and clients. Then, one day after a particularly close call that thrilled Aika, but terrified her sister, the older declared that they would walk the straight and narrow path. Both enrolled in school and made due with what money they had left over. Aika’s sister eventually got a part time job and Aika did whatever odd jobs she could to earn money, as no one would hire someone so young.
Still, that instinct ached and Aika’s fingers itched and she often found herself picking pockets in the hallway and stealing trinkets from fellow students. She’d lived by the rule of, ‘if you wanted it, take it’ for so long, that she almost couldn’t help herself. She tried to keep her habit from her sister, to no avail. The older had always been hypersensitive to her, always to keep her out of trouble and safe. And no matter how close she was to the older, Aika didn’t notice her failing health until it was too late.
The winter was cold and they had no money to keep the heat going in the apartment, but Aika was at the age where she wanted desperately to be independent and not ask for help, even when she lay shivering under her meager share of blankets. She briefly thought of crawling into bed with her sister, but her pride wouldn’t let her. Maybe if she hadn’t listened, she might have noticed the warning signs, the fever and coughing that assailed the older at night.
What she did notice, was that in the morning, she always woke up with more blankets than she went to bed with. Her young mind never connected that her having more, meant that her sister had less.
One morning, Aika was awoken by a terrible sound in the next room, a deep, wheezing sound, a wet and choking cough. Alarmed and frightened, Aika had followed the sound to the older’s room and found her sister sitting up in bed, both hands over her mouth, gasping uncontrollably into her cupped hands.
As she went over in a panic, her sister had gripped her shoulder with one hand, eyes flashing in the terrible knowledge that she was dying. Through her other hand, clasped over her mouth, blood flowed and gagging, coughing emitted from within her throat. Suddenly, the sound changed to a gurgling noise and the older began to gasp as if she couldn’t catch her breath. Aika didn’t understand what was going on at the time, but now knew that her sister had been drowning in her own blood as her lungs filled with it.
Aika stood helpless as in only a few seconds that felt like hours, she watched the life drain painfully out of her sister. After her heart had stopped and the terrifying noises had ceased did the body relax and fall limp, the only thing left behind on Aika was a bloody hand print on her shoulder
Shivering in the lingering fright of her memories, Aika rolled over again, back facing the door. That was her biggest failure, watching her sister die and being unable to even comfort her. A knock on the door snapped her attention back to the present and Jun entered the room with a quiet greeting.
“Aika-chan? The cooks said you ordered lunch up here again, so I thought I’d ask you if you wanted to take it somewhere quiet and eat with me?” The older girl waited patiently for a response, somehow seeming to know that Aika was awake. The younger girl just stayed quiet, letting her silence be her answer.
After a while, she heard Jun sigh and the clank of a tray being set down on the table. Soon afterwards, the door clicked shut quietly and Aika rolled over again to face it. Her eyes landed on the food, waiting patiently and covered for someone to devour it. The thought depressed her more and tears welled up in the thief’s eyes.
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As she walked into the dilapidated house, she immediately heard the sound of someone pacing frantically in the living room. Rounding the corner, that someone was revealed to be Risa, black hair swaying as she turned on her heel, one hand held up to her mouth, teeth gnawing painfully into a worn nail. The younger girl froze, her eyes locking on the source of her worry.
“Ai! Where have you been, I’ve been worried sick about you!?” The bean rushed over to her and grabbed her shoulders tightly.
She ignored Risa’s mood and instead, adopted an emotionless tone, “I’ve been doing some thinking.”
“A-About what? Ai-chan,” the younger continued when her girlfriend hesitated, “You don’t have to keep your pain from me.”
“That’s what I’ve been thinking about, pain. And how much pain I’m going to cause you when I tell you that I want to break up with you.” It was said bluntly, almost terrifyingly tactless, a harsh remark that was quite rare from the kind and gentle girl.
Risa recoiled as if she had been slapped, “What? You really…?” When she nodded at the question, the bean’s eyes instantly filled with tears, “But why? I thought that you, you loved me.”
“I do, but I can’t do this anymore. I can’t do us anymore. Please, don’t drag this out.” She requested coldly.“Takahashi-san.”
“That’s not even a reason.” Risa whimpered, bringing her clenched fists up to her eyes.“Takahashi-san.”
She watched through a façade of calm, own heart shattering, as the only person that made her truly happy, ran from the dilapidated house.“Takahashi-san!” Ai jerked awake, feeling someone shaking her shoulder. For a moment, she was confused, still living in the memory she had just seen, tears leaking from her eyes in her sleep. After a moment, she realized that she had fallen asleep next to Risa’s bedside again. “Are you okay?”
Looking up at the speaker, Ai recognized the small girl from around the manor. She was apparently a well known member of Takashi’s gang, as everyone seemed to know her except for Ai. “I’m fine.” she replied, “How can I help you, er…?”
“Shimizu Saki, but everyone calls me Captain.” the girl introduced herself easily, “Actually, I was coming to ask if you had made any plans for us as a gang, Takahashi-san?”
Wiping her eyes clear of remaining tears, Ai gave the question some thought. Obviously the girl was worried about the gang being disbanded and that had been Ai’s original goal, but it apparently hadn’t been Risa’s. “I don’t know what she had planned for you guys.”
“Your not going to break us up, are you?” Saki asked, half fearfully. Ai shook her head slightly.
“No, I think I understand that’s not a good idea, but I really don’t know how to run this place. Why do they call you Captain?” Ai asked curiously.
“Well, it’s kind of a joke. I’m too young to be made into a lieutenant, so they decided to give me the title of Captain, instead. It stuck and now I think everyone’s forgotten my real name.” The girl shrugged nonchalantly, but Ai could tell she actually was pleased by the rank.
“You must have been here a long time to have that happen.” The demo expert commented, ideas turning in her mind.
“Yeah, my whole life and I’m 18 now. My parents were both members, both lieutenants in their time. After my dad died, my mom got out, but I just can’t leave this life behind. It’s all I’ve known.” Saki turned away for a moment, eyes darkening in sadness, before she turned back.
“So you must know how to run this gang almost as well as Takashi did, then.” Ai gave the girl a pointed look and her eyes widened at the implications.
“You want my help?” Saki questioned in surprise.
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t know the first thing about this type of business. Tell me what I need to know to run it.” the demo expert pushed.
“Uh, well, the main source of income is drugs, of course. Our main manufacturers were the brothers, but no one’s seen them since you guys stormed their factory. We have a few small time lab around the outskirts of the city as a sort of back up plan, but they only produce about a sixth of what the brothers usually do. We get 85% of the profits, out of the remaining fifteen percent, ten of it goes to supplies and the other five is to pay the workers.” Saki, now that she was started, explained to Ai easily. She was truly in her element.
“Now, out of the 85%, half of that is bribe money. Takashi had a lot of officials in his pocket; judges, station heads, and lawyers, as well as normal beat cops and a few detectives. What you probably need to do is get the brothers set up again and then reassure the bribed men that they will still get paid.” Suddenly seeming to realize that she had basically just given her new boss an order, Saki rubbed the back of her head demurely, “I mean, that’s just a suggestion.”
Giving a breathless laugh, Ai smiled, “Well, is that all? The drug brothers are under police watch somewhere. Get some people out searching for them, check hospitals first. The bribes will have to wait until Risa wakes up, but is there any other way he earned income?”
“Protection money was a good chunk of change. Each gang has a territory they operate out of, ours is the west part of the city, Tanaka’s is the north and Kusumi has the rest of the city. Twice a month, we go out and collect protection from businesses, you might need to reinforce your grip there, as well, but I think you may need to get those officials back in your pocket before that.” Saki answered, much less nervously.
“What do you think I should do first?” Ai asked the girl bluntly and Saki scratched the back of her head.
“I don’t think you should wait for Niigaki-dono to wake up before you start asserting your power. You’re acting leader for as long as she’s out, so everyone will listen to you. Just got out there and shake some people up.”
The demo expert gave Captain a wide eyed look, “But I’m not intimidating at all!”
“Exactly,” Saki replied, “You’re small and cute and unassuming, go in there and talk to them like you normally would. Be shy and sweet, be pleasant, even. Whatever you do, don’t back down and if they really piss you off or disrespect you, order them dead as if it’s the most natural thing to do. They’ll cave, they’re cowards.”
“I’m not sure I could do that.” Ai said, looking down into her lap.
“You can act, can’t you? You can lie?” When Ai shook her head, Saki let out an exasperated sigh, “I know you can be tough! I was there when you took charge of everyone, I saw it! You just have to do it again!”
“But, I…” The demo expert trailed off, gnawing on her lip nervously.
“You can’t give up. I know you’re scared, but you are holding our lives in your hands. You can’t just let us be, you have to take charge.” Saki said comfortingly.
“Alright, who is first on the list?” Ai reluctantly gave in, eliciting a cheer from her companion.
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Ai perched delicately on the chair in his office, dressed in a pure white outfit, every inch the innocent lady she was. Jun, also dressed in white, stood still behind her, eyeing the man behind the desk warily. He was the head of the precinct they were in and the first on Ai’s list to buy off.
“Now, Minoru-san.” Ai said amicably, resisting a smirk at the way he bristled when she used his first name. “I understand that you had a business contract with Takashi-san. I’m here to renew that contract.” she began smoothly.
“And I heard that you’re not really the head of that gang, that the real head is lying unconscious somewhere.” The man countered venomously and the demo expert struggled to not let her emotions show on her face.
“You’re right, I’m not the head.” Ai narrowed her eyes slightly, “I’m co-head. My partner is jet setting around somewhere, getting some affairs in order, so she left me in charge of this. Really, a free spirit, that one.” she smiled fondly, chuckling lightly to give the image that she was unperturbed by his demeanor.
“Oh, is that how it is?” The man asked skeptically, “That’s quite unusual, don’t you agree?”
“Well, what is really usual about my partner and I?” Ai shrugged nonchalantly, “Now, about that contract?” Minoru nodded reluctantly, “How much was Takashi paying you?”
“400.000 yen a month, every month.” The man stated proudly.
Nodding contemplatively Ai made a humming sound, “I see. Well, then I’ll start off like this, 200,000 yen a month, every other month-”
“What?! Do you know who I am?! I could have you arrested for walking into this place! How dare you!” Minoru exploded and Ai rolled her eyes.
“The way it’s going to work is this; I will pay you what I’ve said and if you’re a good boy, you’ll slowly earn a raise, let’s say every six months. If you displease me, I’ll lower your pay and if you reach below zero, you’ll pay me. If you are a productive member of this contract, you could well earn three times as much as Takashi was paying you.” Without a hint of steel in her voice, Ai laid down her plan.
Staring agape at her audacity, the man couldn’t even find words at first, “Wha- You- No, I’ll tell you how it’s going to work! You show up here personally with 800,000 yen every first of the month or I’ll have you and your lackey thrown in prison so fast, your head will spin.”
Jun grunted in displeasure at the insult, jamming her hands in her pockets, but Ai merely clucked her tongue in disappointment, “Oh dear, I’m afraid that just won’t do. I fear I’m on a slight budget right now, until our business gets going again. Are you sure you won’t consider my deal again?”
“Of course I won’t! That’s ridiculous!” Minoru shouted and the demo expert put on gloved hand to her lips, biting on the tip of the white fabric for a moment, face scrunched up in thought. Finally, she smiled brightly and shrugged.
“Oh well, that’s too bad then, I really would hate to have you as an enemy, though, so Jun? Kill him.” Eagerly, the Chinese girl drew her hands from her pockets, spiked knuckles adorning her own gloves.
Flabbergasted for a moment, at first, Minoru did not take her seriously, but when Jun began to march towards him with a glare, he scrambled out of his seat, “Wait! Do you know who I am?!”
“In a minute, it won’t matter.” Ai said, yawning delicately into her hand. The hitter, now arms length away, grabbed the man’s lapel with one hand and reared back to hit him with the other, intending to smash his skull in with one hit.
“Wait! Stop, no! Okay, okay, you have a deal!” Jun looked over to Ai and the older girl gave a slight nod. Slowly, she let him go, even smoothing his wrinkled jacket before backing off to her place behind Ai. “I’ll take your deal.” Minoru grumbled and Ai smiled brightly, clapping her hands together and bouncing in her seat a little.
“Oh great! I’m very glad you did, now it will be delivered at the end of every other month, starting with this month, with a small bonus as a show of good faith. Nut only this month. Also, if you really help me out, I might throw in a bonus as thanks, so keep that in mind.” And without waiting for any reply he might have had, Ai hopped out of her chair and skipped out the door.
It wasn’t a very long walk to the van, where Saki was waiting in the driver’s seat, and the two climbed in without ado, Jun in the front and Ai in the back. Almost as soon as they were rolling, did Ai collapse on her stomach and begin to wail theatrically.
“That was scary!!” She cried, crocodile tears soaking the fabric of her gloves. Jun and Saki exchanged a look, half concerned, half exasperated.
“Well, only about thirty left to go, Takahashi-san.” Saki replied cheerily, eliciting more wailing.
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The sound of quiet sobbing greeted Sayumi when she stepped out of the bathroom, clean and fresh from her shower. Unlike Jun, Aika and their two leaders, Sayu, Eri, Reina and Lin had opted to stay shacked at the hotel. Since Eri had just left to go to her precinct and do some much overdue paperwork and Lin was holed up in her room hacking traffic lights for fun, that only left Reina as the culprit.
Sure enough, curled up into a tiny ball in her bed was the notoriously grouchy cop, crying as if she had just lost her fortune in the stock market crash. The con was quite unsure of what to do, never had she seen the younger girl so distraught. Her shuddering, hitching breaths made something unfamiliar twist inside Sayu’s chest and she definitely didn’t like the feeling.
Her first instinct was to flee from the strange sensation ad without a second thought, she headed for the door, but that same brokenhearted sob made her pause with her hand on the knob. Sayu just couldn’t leave the girl like that, if she was sad, then she wouldn’t be as fun to mess with. Right? That’s what she told herself as she about faced and tiptoed over to the bed.
For a moment, she stood staring down at the small lump under the covers, contemplating how to approach the situation. Then she decided to just slip into bed with the other girl, immediately eliciting sloppily flying fists coming at her body. It was easy enough to grab Reina’s wrists and keep them still and soon, the cop was sinking into her embrace, sobbing on her shoulder.
“I-I don’ wanna to kill my daddy!” she cried in her natural dialect and that was all she could say before she degenerated into sobs again.
The con suddenly realized that this was a bit more serious than she had anticipated and that flee reaction reached out to her again. Before she could even think about moving though, Reina’s arms wrapped around her middle and held her desperately. That flight feeling calmed at the warmth that spread through her at such an action. The younger girl needed her. And so, Sayumi decided to stay.
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Once again dozing at her lover’s bedside, Ai jerked awake when the door to the suite was flung open and Jun Jun burst into the room, something held triumphantly in her hands. With wild eyes, she searched the room for something, finally landing on Ai with a grin. The demo expert felt her eyes widen as the bigger girl darted towards her, but instead of being bowled over like she thought, the Chinese girl slithered under her chair to hide herself around Ai’s ankles.
Before Ai could even think to ask what she was doing, the door burst open again and Lin Lin skidded into the room, “Jun! Give me back my DS!” She cried out loudly. “I know you’re here, so don’t even think about trying to hide.”
Jun’s giggle gave her away and Lin exclaimed, pointing at the bed, “I wouldn’t have taken it if you weren’t so intent on using it to not socialize!” Slightly muffled, the hitter cried. She suddenly stood, knocking Ai forward out of her chair. Ignoring the manly scream this caused, Jun hid behind the slight woman.
“What do you care who I talk to or not?!” The hacker and hitter darted circles around the rapidly dizzying Ai.
“Since I’m not going to be friendly to you, you might as well find someone who will be!” Jun fired back, now getting angry.
“It none of your business!” Lin yelled, grabbing for the game. The older girl held it high out of her reach and the small girl jumped, unable to get it. “Cheater!” The hacker accused, beginning to get teary eyed.
“Am not!” Jun replied maturely, quickly becoming concerned. Her relationship with the girl was a warped complex of love, hate and apathy, and she didn’t really want to make her cry.
“Guys!” Ai cried, holding a hand to her head, “Stop it!”
“Now children.” A fourth voice croaked out in amusement, “Do I have to separate you three?” The three in question turned towards the familiar source so fast they almost gave themselves whiplash.
Sitting up in bed, hair mussed, face pale, but smiling brightly was none other than an alert Niigaki Risa.
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Now, show me some more love.
Topic: Black and Blue (Ch 34 6/4 The End!) (Read 177797 times)