Finally! You have no idea how much trouble I had when i was writing this chapter. I didn't take that long for any other chapter... It just didn't want to turn out the way I wanted... It is resisting every try to make it better, honestly.
Oh well. I seriously have no idea when i'll be able to finish chapter 7, but for now just enjoy this part, okay?
Oh by the way,
thank you for your lovely comments as always.
@ bimbo: She will, she will.
@ ChoyShinhwa: Well, there is not much she can do... the question is probably what the CoF members are going to do with her.
@ TakaminaBG: I'm not telling you!
@ Kojiyuu44: Who knows, who knows.
@ arrow27: Really? Ah, I was absoultely not confident about it, thank you!
@ ikun1216: Now I'm relieved. I'm not really good at writing action and everything so I'm glad that you think it was suspenseful. Mmh, CoF action and fighting will come towards the end I think. I don't know, I just like to picture Mariko blowing things up like a boss. You know, the scenery around her goes BOOM and she'll just put on her sunglasses and walk away. Haha, now that you mention the HA! pv, I've watched i again, and yeah, there are similarities. Sayaka in this story is a little bit more like small-time crook though (That was at least what her role was supposed to be before I rewrote it and decided to make her an investigator).
@ Pdpond: I always take too long with my updates, huh? Sorry...
@ takamae: She'll have to get used to it, after all we all want her to end up with her assassin, right?
@ miayaka: Yeah, it gotta pick up some pace before it turns out to be boring.
@ kahem: Don't cry! We don't know for sure that something bad happened to her! (although it's kind of likely... Nope, I'm not telling. I'm not yet telling. She could be fine after all)
@ Haruko: Tears are good to purify the soul... maybe they'll help her...
Chapter 6CoF backup house, 07:44 AM
Minami was not sure where exactly she was. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in Mariko-samas car after a seemingly endless walk through the city that had resulted in meeting the boss and the other two women at a gas station. She knew that she had started to cry out of frustration on the way to the meeting point and that it seemed to have drained all of her energy.
Meeting Mariko-sama hadn’t helped either because Minami had turned out to be nothing more but an unwanted burden to the boss. If she recalled last night’s events correctly Atsuko and Ayaka had gotten quite a lecture for kidnapping her like that.
Sighing Minami looked around. She had to admit that this place was much nicer than the factory. She stood in the middle of a spacious living room. The furniture and the floor were made of a light brown kind of wood while the walls, curtains, table cloths and such were white. One of the walls was completely made up of huge glass windows and offered an amazing view over the city that was situated underneath them. On the other side of the room were a kitchen unit and three doors. One of them was slightly open and led to a bathroom and one of them probably outside. Minami did not know where the third door led, but she was not sure if she wanted to know after she had seen the secret weapon stock in the basement.
On the floor of the living room lay sleeping bags. Kumi was easy to recognize as she slept on her back, her arms up at the side of her head, like a baby. The person next to her was harder to make out because all that could be seen was hair, but if Minami was to guess it was either Ayaka or Yuko. Mariko had claimed the couch for herself. The two injured women that Minami had seen in Miichan’s restaurant had found themselves a corner where they had curled up together so tightly that it was impossible to tell whose limbs belonged to whom.
It seems like ages ago that I saw them for the first time but it was only yesterday. I should have known better than to play around with the bad girls. Minami looked around but Atsuko was nowhere to be seen. Only a crumbled sleeping bag on the floor hinted that she had been there at some point of time.
“Acchan?” Minami whispered, unsure what she should do. The girl on the floor raised her head and Minami recognized her as Ayaka. She blinked sleepily.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you…” Minami backed away and stepped on something that felt awfully like human flash. As she looked down she noticed that she had indeed stepped on Kumi’s hand but the girl didn’t seem to have noticed. She was still breathing in and out peacefully. A smile graced her lips and Minami wished for nothing more than to possess this kind of innocence.
I lost my innocence when I lost my brother. I believed in him, but he sealed his own fate. I wonder if I’m not heading down the same road.Minami pressed her lips together tightly. Yesterday she had been too confused to think straight, but now a cold anger had taken over her thoughts.
“Acchan” she mumbled as she made her way over to the doors. Her hand rested on the doorknob of the one on the right, but she wasn’t sure if it really led outside. She looked around to make sure that nobody was watching her while she was doing something that could probably considered escaping, and pushed it open.
Minami found herself staring into a bedroom. It was decorated in the same style as the living room. In the middle stood a huge bed, framed by white curtains that were swaying in a soft breeze. Two bedside tables stood at each of its side. On one of them stood a single white lily in a glass, while the other one was occupied by an ammunition belt and a picture, which was turned around so that it faced the wall.
Even though Minami knew that she was absolutely rude to burst in like that she couldn’t help but stare at the room. The entire scenery had an immensely sad feeling to it. The scent of the lily filled the room and clouded Minami’s thoughts. It was so bittersweet…
Minami turned her attention to the bed as she heard a noise. She gulped when she noticed Yuko fast asleep. Her outline was all that could be seen through the curtains but Minami could tell it was her. She stirred in her sleep and whimpered.
“Haruna” she breathed out and her voice was filled with so much pain that Minami felt bad out of the sudden. It seemed to her like she had just barged in to witness an incredibly intimate moment. As quiet as possible she closed the door once again. The smell of the lily still lingered in the air.
Minami jumped as the door next to her opened and startled her. A gust of wind swept inside and she found herself face to face with the person she had been looking for. Atsuko’s eyes were clouded and seemed darker than ever before.
“H-hi” Minami finally stumbled and raised her hand as if to greet the other girl. Atsuko raised an eyebrow.
“So” Minami felt like an idiot because she was basically talking to herself. “What have you been up to?”
You’re asking an assassin what she’s been up to? Stupid Minami, stupid!Something flickered in Atsuko’s eyes but she replied in a semi-bored tone. “Nothing much, I guess”
Minami chew on her bottom lip. She did not know what to say. Yesterday she had been angry, disappointed and confused but in the morning light everything seemed surreal. Atsuko was still Atsuko and Minami could not hate her after all.
CoF backup House, 08:15 AMAtsuko poked Kumi’s side with her toe.
“Stand up, I’m hungry” she demanded.
Kumi groaned and Atsuko poked her again. This time, Kumi’s eyelids fluttered and she shot up as she realized that Atsuko was hovering above her.
“I’m on my way” she got up and saluted. Atsuko nodded coldly. Ayaka stirred in her sleeping bag and sat up.
“Good morning” she greeted.
Don’t you dare to think that I’m going to talk to you. Minami, who was sitting at the table and stared into empty space, replied absentmindedly. “Morning”
Sayaka and Sae started to move as well and Atsuko was convinced that Mariko had been awake for quite a while now.
Soon the smell of an American breakfast filled the room. Everyone gathered around the table, more or less awake and Atsuko slipped next to Minami quickly. She felt the girl shift away from her and put her arm around her shoulder.
“Remember Minami, you’re my honored guest. The others are not pleased about your presence” she whispered into the girl’s ear.
“W-what do you mean?” Minami moved her head so that she was looking at Atsuko. Because she was so close their noses touched for a brief moment and Atsuko felt her heart skip a beat. Minami’s cheeks turned red but she firmly held her gaze at Atsuko.
“Nothing much”
It almost felt like nothing had happened between them, like Minami was still getting teased by her and was enjoying it even though she would never admit it, but Atsuko knew that yesterday’s events bothered the other girl more than anything. Something between them had definitely changed, now that Minami had seen her dark side.
“I’m sorry”
The words slipped out before she even thought about it, but Minami’s eyes went wide and she could have sworn that a slight smile graced her lips.
Yesterday she was so angry, but she couldn’t have forgiven me already, right? No, even a few minutes ago she still seemed to hate me.Suddenly Minami let out a cry and hugged the surprised Atsuko as tight as she could and started to sob into her leather jacket as if there was no tomorrow. Everyone stared at them. Kumi, who had been preparing the meal with her back to the table turned around and almost dropped the pan she was holding.
“Oh!” she squealed in delight while her cheeks turned light pink. Ayaka shot her a death glare to make her shut up.
Atsuko’s hand trembled slightly as she placed it on Minami’s hair. She closed her eyes and for a second she allowed herself to be just Atsuko, just the girl who was vulnerable somewhere deep inside.
“I’m sure… that you’re friend is fine” she looked at he companions helplessly as she had no experience in comforting people and she feared that she may make things worse. Sayaka gave an approving nod and Mariko inspected her nails and pretended not to pay attention. “Uuhm… You’ll be able to go home soon. Just stay with me a little bit? Even though you may”, Atsuko gulped, “hate me”
But I feel that you don’t, right Minami? You don’t hate me.Suddenly a door opened and Yuko walked into the room. She had bags under her eyes but when she saw the scene in front of her she smirked.
“Oi, Atsuko, you’re pressing her face into your boobs”
Minami shot up and mumbled something to herself. Atsuko noticed that her ears were flaming red.
“Yuko-sama! Why did you interrupt their moment?” Sae sounded like she was not able to comprehend her mistress’ doing at all. “They were cute, weren’t they Sayaka?”
“Hm” the woman who had one arm around Sae’s shoulder nodded. Both of them were still pale but they seemed to be doing well regarding their injuries.
“Of course we are” Atsuko grinned and pulled Minami closer to her again. Tears were still trickling down her face and she wanted to wipe them away. Atsuko raised her thumb to Minami’s left cheek and to her surprise the girl didn’t even flinch.
Minami… you’re too kind.
“Eeeks!” Kumi squealed at Atsuko’s movement and not even Ayaka could do anything against it. Sae broke into a grin and nudged Sayaka who smiled proudly.
“Okay, enough you guys” Mariko’s voice was quiet but everyone’s attention turned to her immediately. “This is serious”
Sayaka straightened in her seat and put both of her hands on the table in front of her. One of them was wrapped up tightly and she gazed at it sadly.
“I can’t fight properly” she said quietly.
“Me neither” Sae shot a look of guilt at Yuko. “I’m sorry”
“It’s alright” Yuko was serious. “It’s Yamamoto’s fault”
Atsuko played with a strand of Minami’s hair.
“What are we going to do now?” Ayaka looked at Mariko who leant back on her chair. The silence seemed to be dragged out eternally as everyone waited for the answer of the boss.
“Eat”
CoF backup House, 08:42 AM
Minami had been sent outside with Kumi. The CoF members had wanted to discuss their new strategy without any witnesses and Minami was almost thankful that she didn’t have to hear everything they said. Her entire stock of values had been turned upside down.
And all with one gentle touch. This can’t be healthy, really it isn’t. Minami kicked a small stone that lay in the yard outside of the house and watched it roll towards the massive metal gate. After she had stepped outside she had found herself in a tiny yard, surrounded by flower beds and a wall. Everything was small but the neighborhood was exclusive from what she could see through the gate.
“Are you coming?”
“Hm?” Minami looked at Kumi who marched towards the gate. “What are you doing?”
“I need to go to the supermarket” Kumi shrugged as she reached for the metal poles of the gate.
She’s not going to climb, right?The maid placed one foot between two poles. Then she stretched up to an intersection that formed a diamond-pattern and grabbed the gate with one hand. Minami watched with her mouth wide open as Kumi started to make her way up with an agility that she had not expected.
“B- be careful of those pointy thingies on top” she warned.
“Don’t worry” Kumi giggled. “It’s not that hard. Are you coming?”
She doesn’t really expect me to follow her, right?“I think I’ll pass” Minami crossed her arms and nodded towards the house. “I’m kind of kidnapped so I shouldn’t, you know, escape or something. They may send the dogs after me or something. Wait, do they have dogs?”
I can imagine that boss to have dogs. She’s scary enough. “I don’t know”
Minami laughed nervously as she suddenly noticed something around the corner of the house that looked suspiciously like a doghouse.
Something moved in there…“I’m coming”
CoF backup House, 08:42 AMAtsuko looked at Mariko expectedly. The leader sighed as she opened her mouth and started to speak.
“Acchan. Care to explain why we have a prisoner who you seem to be quite familiar with?”
“Ask Umeda” Atsuko smirked as the inexperienced assassin stared at her wide-eyed.
“Well…” Ayaka bit her lower lip. “I think the question is rather why said prisoner was standing on the street and screamed ‘Maeda Atsuko, I hate you’. After she got out of that mud puddle, of course”
Mud puddle? That sounds like her.
“Mud puddle?” Yuko grinned. “She’s quite a catch, Acchan”
“I know” Atsuko smirked. “But it’s your fault that Yamamoto got away because of this, right Umeda? If you had just ignored Minami and went after that shoplifting girl we wouldn’t have had any of this trouble”
Yes Umeda, process it, this is all your fault. “It was never the original plan to send that Rino chick away! I should have waited for the commands of someone who’s more competent than you!”
Okay, now you’re getting it.
“You were obviously not able to handle the situation on your own. How long have you been working with that pathetic lighter? Face it girl, you’re still a newbie in this business”
“Is that so? Somehow it seems to me that I’m more objective than you with your love-clouded mind!”
“Don’t you talk about love, alright? You got no fucking idea what it’s like to lose the one you love!”
“Oh? You’ve been over her soon, huh? After all that Minami is your new lover, right?”
“She’s n-“
Oh let that stupid girl think whatever she wants to think. “She is”
Ayaka smiled triumphantly as she heard Atsuko’s words.
“That’s your explanation Mariko-sama. Maeda-san is blinded by her affection for that girl! I had to take her! She knows too much about us, she’s seen everything at the factory and I’m convinced that Maeda-san told her a lot of things beforehand!”
When did that newbie become so cunning?“Yeah, yeah, yeah” Atsuko smirked at Ayaka and lowered her voice. “Of course I did. But you know Ayaka… Minami is not what she appears to be. She’s a vampire!”
“Oh, stop kidding me! This is serious!” Ayaka jumped up from her seat. “Maeda-san! I’m only trying my best to keep CoF going!”
“Both of you, stop” Mariko ordered calmly. “I’ll discuss this with you separately. Let’s move on to more important points, shall we?”
“Yamamoto” hissed Yuko.
“Yamamoto” Mariko nodded. “At the moment she has highest priority, before Yokoyama, am I clear Acchan?”
Of course. I’ll get my revenge Mariko-sama, trust me. “Good” Yuko smirked. “We want that skank dead, right Twin towers?”
“Yeah!” Sae started to bounce on her chair. “She hurt my Sayaka!”
Sayaka smiled and brushed Sae’s cheek with her lips, not without blushing.
“Don’t underestimate her” Mariko shook her head. “I hate to say that but I don’t know what she’s up to, now that she officially dragged the police into this and risked that they would end up with the glory of catching us. That doesn’t seem like her”
“Hmmm” Yuko tipped her chin with her fingers. “It’s impossible to figure out, right? We should have killed her right on the spot instead of kidnapping her like that. Mariko-sama?”
“Yes?”
“I wonder… why did you tell me that it’s fine to abduct her in a public place like this?”
Mariko smiled.
“I’m not sure… I had a good feeling about this”
“Good feeling?” Atsuko chuckled. “Didn’t turn out the way you thought, huh?”
“Who knows… It might be fate after all.”
“Fate…” Yuko smiled bitterly. “All I know is that we can’t predict the ending of this”
“By the way” Sayaka furrowed her brows. “Has anyone informed Tomo~mi about yesterday’s events? She may only be the cleaning Lady but she knows a lot about us that shouldn’t end up in the police records”
A supermarket nearby, 09:10 AMMinami pushed the cart through the aisles. She admired Kumi for being so carefree. The secretary hummed a melody and randomly threw things into the cart. Minami was not completely sure if she should tell her that there was no need to buy a Halloween costume but regarding the fact that Kumi was part of a criminal organization she decided to ignore it. The other customers were looking at them strangely and Minami felt that they did not really fit in. She would bet that half of the people were maids or cooks of important families who went shopping for their employers.
The supermarket was indeed located in an expensive neighborhood. On their way from the CoF house, they had seen a lot of huge mansions, protected by fences and dogs. It didn’t look really inviting and Minami was dying to know just why the CoF backup house was located in this part of the city.
“Uhm, Yagami-san?”
The girl didn’t react.
“Yagami-san? Yagami-san!”
“Oh me?” Kumi pointed at herself and smiled. “Sorry, for a minute I had forgotten that that’s my name. Just call me Kuumin, that’s something I can remember”
“Oh, okay. Uhm Kuumin-san, could you tell me what exactly CoF is?”
“CoF” Kumi tipped her chin with her finger. “Do you think we need more toilet paper? Or maybe pink toilet paper? Anyway CoF means Community of Females. It’s because of the factory”
I don’t get it.“Huh?”
“Well, the factory was owned by Shinoda-sama’s dad. He produced nursery bras and Shinoda- sama’s mother was a midwife who had a meeting room for her clients on the top floor. You know, they had like a secret mommy circle and that’s what they called Community of Females. After the factory shut down and Shinoda-sama established her business she kept the name”
That’s too weird. Really, that’s just… gross. Somehow, I mean…Minami shook her head as she tried to silence her imagination, process the information she was just given and to figure out if the other girl was making fun of her. Then, suddenly, she spotted someone in the corner of her eyes. She almost ran into a shelf that held vegetables in cans, but Kumi yanked her back with surprisingly good reflexes, only to stumble herself and fall headfirst into the peas. Minami didn’t even notice because she was staring towards the exit.
That’s not who I think that is, right?A girl stood waiting in the queue to pay. She could only see her from behind but the school uniform was all too familiar to her.
Okay, maybe I’m seeing things. “Kumi-san, do you see that girl? In the blue school uniform?”
“Huh?” Kumi blinked and rubbed her forehead. She picked up the six cans of peas she had knocked out of the shelf and placed them in the cart. Then she finally looked over to the queue. “She’s cute. But… you’re not into her right? Because… because…” Kumi made a fist and pouted cutely. “That would hurt Maeda-san!”
“WHAT? No, no, no, you got it wrong!” Minami shook her head furiously.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes” Minami whispered because people were staring at them already. Quickly she pulled Kumi around the corner to stare at the queue from a secret hiding position. “I’m totally not interested, I mean in neither, I mean…”
What am I saying anyway? This is not… Wait, the topic, back to the original topic… Mayu.
“Takahashi-san… your ears are red”
Minami sighed and wondered what destiny was up to. If she talked to Mayu now she’d be in a tricky situation, after all she was kidnapped. But she wanted to ask about Miichan’s whereabouts so desperately… She shook her head and stared at her shoes. This whole situation was just stupid. And maybe she didn’t want to know what happened to Miichan, she just couldn’t.
“Hey! You! School girl!” Kumi jumped out of hiding, yelled and waved her arm.
“What are you doing?” hissed Minami.
“Didn’t you want to talk to her?”
“No! Well, yeah, but I need time to prepare myself!” Minami looked over to the queue and found Mayu staring back at her.
I should have stayed in the yard. Breaking the rules is no good after all. She waved awkwardly. Mayu stared, then she turned around. Obviously she didn’t want to talk to her and for once Minami was glad.
She doesn’t know yet that I’m supposed to be missing, but as soon as she goes to the travel agency the others will tell her and then she’ll tell them that she saw me and then the… the police will come here.
“Kuumin-san, we’re in trouble” Minami grabbed Kumi’s arm. “I HAVE to talk to her”
I don’t want the police to catch Acchan because of me, I could not stand that.
“I knew it” Kumi nodded. “Hey! You girl!”
Mayu didn’t react and Minami was starting to panic. The younger girl was already paying and almost ready to leave.
“Kumi-san, is it alright if I leave the shopping to you and go after her?”
Without waiting for an answer, Minami pushed her way through the people who were waiting to pay and ran after the school girl. She caught her in front of the building and grabbed her arm.
“Mayu!”
“What do you want Takahashi?” Mayu spun around and yanked her arm out of Minami’s grip. “Do you want to ask me why I’m not at school once again?”
“Well, I… Why aren’t you at school?”
Mayu crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“Oh” Minami searched for an answer. “I got kinda kidnapped. That’s why you can’t tell anyone that you saw me?”
Mayu just stared at her, unmoved except for the hair that the wind played with.
Okay, how do I put this…“Uhm, have you ever heard of CoF? They are a criminal organization with their origins in a mommy circle and they are dangerous and they kidnapped me!”
“Really?”
“Yeah! You can ask the police!”
“How did you manage?” Mayu asked seriously.
“What? Why?”
“Well, when I was a kid, I wanted someone to kidnap me, but nobody did even though I was rich and cute. You’re neither but still they kidnap you. How?”
“Why would you want somebody to kidnap you?”
Mayu shrugged but Minami could see sadness in her eyes that she hadn’t noticed before.
Something is seriously wrong with her.
“Mayu” Minami sighed. “What’s the matter? Come on, let me help you!”
“I’m fine Takahashi-san. Besides shouldn’t you get back to your ‘kidnapper’?”
Mayu pointed at Kumi who had just exited the supermarket and was struggling with the shopping bags.
“She can wait. She’s the kidnapper’s secretary anyway. Mayu, why don’t you go to school?”
“Gosh, Takahashi-san if you don’t want me to tell anyone why you’re not at work why would you ask for my reasons then?”
“I’m an adult! I can take care of myself!”
Mayu scoffed and looked Minami up and down.
“You look like a kid though”
What’s that supposed to mean? Mayu turned around.
“If you mind, I’m going back to school now. I’ve got an important test today but before noon I’ll be finished and then I’ll be on my way to the travel agency”
With that she walked away and left Minami behind. The older woman stared after her for a second than she turned around to look for Kumi. The secretary was still fighting with the bags and didn’t pay any attention.
If I follow her now… I can’t just let her go like that. And I didn’t ask about Miichan…Once more Minami looked at Kumi. She felt kind of guilty. After all the poor girl would be in trouble if she let her escape. Still…
Acchan… You know that I wouldn’t escape, right? I just found you again and you’re living this kind of a life… I don’t want you to struggle alone. I’ll be back.And then, Minami followed Mayu.
CoF backup house, 09:52 AMAtsuko stared at Kumi.
“Where. Is. Minami.”
“I don’t know” Kumi glance was fixed firmly on her feet. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. “Maeda-san, I swear, I don’t know”
“Kumi” Mariko pushed Atsuko to the side and with a surprisingly soft voice she continued. “I know that you don’t always think about everything that happens around you but sometimes it’s important. Can you tell us what exactly happened at the supermarket?”
Kumi wiped her tears away and looked at the boss.
“There were a lot of people”
Idiot! That won’t help me find Minami!Atsuko was just about to say something rude to the secretary when she felt Yuko’s small hand on her shoulder. Her mentor shook her head and gave her a warning glare.
“What else happened Kumi?”
“Well, Takahashi-san wanted to talk to another girl but she didn’t want to talk to her but then she went after her and then she was gone. She wore a blue school uniform”
“A school uniform?” Mariko furrowed her brows. “Ayaka, Atsuko, Yuko, go and check the surroundings. See if you can find a school”
“Of course” Ayaka looked at their leader. “What are we supposed to do when we find them?”
“Bring them back, what else?” Atsuko hissed. Ayaka just looked at her.
What else could we do with them? Ayaka you shouldn’t be thinking… Don’t dare to think…Suddenly Atsuko was very well aware what she would have done a few weeks ago. She would have made sure to clean up this mess. She would have gotten rid of all witnesses once and for all. And it disgusted her. To know what she would have done, to know what she did do in so many situations… it disgusted her.
But… this is Minami!“No!” Atsuko suddenly yelled and leaped towards Ayaka, but Yuko held her back. She twisted her arm on her back and kicked into the back of her knee, so she fell to the ground.
“Ayaka is not a bad person. Don’t worry Acchan”
“Let me go!” Atsuko struggled but Yuko was still more experienced than her and wouldn’t let go. Helplessly she had to watch as Ayaka exited the room and Mariko waved for Kumi and the Twin Towers to follow her outside.
“Can we talk calmly now?” Yuko asked. Atsuko forced herself to nod and seconds later she felt her mentor loosen her grip.
What if she hurts her?
“Yuko. I have to go after them”
“No you don’t” Yuko shook her head and sat on the couch. She pulled Atsuko next to her. “As I said, Ayaka is not as bad as you think. She’s passionate about CoF but she has her reasons”
“Reasons” Atsuko spat the word out. “We all thought we had reasons to do this, right?”
“When did you become so bitter?” Yuko sighed. “Look, you haven’t been yourself since Haruka’s death, I know that. And now that you’re worried about Minami things have gotten out of hand”
“What are you trying to imply? That we should get rid of her, yes?”
“Atsuko, no! I’m not a monster. I understand what you feel but I understand Ayaka’s worries as well. You put all the blame on her and she fears the entire time that she’s doing something wrong. CoF is all she has”
“CoF is everything to all of us, you know that”
“Yes. But we never knew anything else. You grew up in an orphanage, didn’t you?”
Oh come on Yuko, why are we taking a trip down memory lane?“So?”
“The life you lived was miserable before you got here. You had nothing to lose, nothing to give up. Ayaka however… She didn’t become an assassin because she wanted to. She had a family, a home, a job, friends… She’s stronger than you think”
“Oh really?” Atsuko looked at Yuko. “Are you sure you don’t want me to pity her so I will leave her alone?”
“Oh Atsuko, fuck this! You make me angry, you know that?” Yuko suddenly jumped up from the couch. “You turned out to be absolutely unbearable, you hear me? Always bitching! Girl, show your sweet side a little bit! I’m sure you’re midget hasn’t left you, can’t you see that she’s like the personification of kind and, moreover that she loves you?”
What? I thought this was about Umeda! What does Minami… why…“I wouldn’t say that she loves me”
Yuko threw her hands up in the air.
“See?! Just an hour ago you said the complete opposite!”
Okay, yeah I guess I did. “Ha! Gotcha! You’re smiling Acchan, you’re smiling!”
“No, I’m not”
“Yes, you are! Show me that beautiful smile, show me that smile!”
“No” Atsuko tried to control her face but unfortunately Yuko’s smile was addicting.
“That’s what I wanted to see. To be honest just thinking about her makes you smile, right? Right, right, right?”
“Stop hopping around like a squirrel on drugs” Atsuko mumbled.
“Ahaha! Nu-uh, no way! Come on! Get your ass up, go and look for her, go, go, go!”
“Yuko, what the heck did you eat?”
She’s so crazy sometimes! But she seems happy. She seems really happy.“Go Acchan, go Acchan, go Aaaaacchan!”
Atsuko was still grinning as she left the house. She didn’t see that the smile disappeared from Yuko’s face and got replaced by a sad look.
“Maybe the two of you can accomplish what we didn’t”
Then as if all energy was drained from her, Yuko fell back on the couch and massaged her temples. She stared at the white wall in front of her and gave in to her memories.
Characters (will probably get updated when we know more about the girls)
Main CharactersTakahashi Minami (21)Minami lives alone in a small house with a tiny garden. She’s been living with her mother until she died two years ago after Minami’s brother was killed in an illegal car race at age 15. Minami works at the luxurious agency Kuramochi Travels as a manager even though she did not graduate from university. However she has always been a hard worker. She is sometimes awkward around people but very kind. Her best friend is Minegishi Minami who has been on her heels ever since they went to Kindergarten together.
Maeda Atsuko (21)Acchan is an assassin. She has been part of CoF for 3 years now and is one of Japan’s top killers. She used to work together with her partner Nakagawa Haruka who she was secretly in love with but didn’t confess to. After Haruka is killed she is broken and reckless but Minami is able to comfort her.
CoFYagami Kumi (18)Kumi is the secretary (official title)/maid/cook of CoF. She has been around Shinoda Mariko ever since she was a baby and never finished highschool. She is extremely loyal but actually possesses advanced fighting skills.
Shinoda Mariko (30)Mariko is the boss of CoF. She established the company together with Oshima Yuko 7 years ago in the old nursery-bra-factory of her father after she got into trouble with the Yakuza.
Nakagawa Haruka (21)Haruka was an assassin. She grew up in an orphanage together with Maeda Atsuko. She died when she tried to kill Yokoyama Yui.
Kasai Tomomi (21)Tomo~mi is the cleaning lady at CoF. She’s usually chatting with Yagami Kumi or on a date.
Oshima Yuko (24)Yuko is an assassin. She has been part of CoF for 7 years and is Maeda Atsuko’s mentor. She is wanted by the police because she is proven guilty of the murder of at least 13 people. She has actually been to jail once but broke out. Kojima Haruna was the love of her life.
Umeda Ayaka (22)Ayaka an assassin. She’s new in CoF.
Kuramochi Travels
Kuramochi Asuka (22)Asuka is the owner of
Kuramochi Travels. She took over the company from her father as soon as she graduated highschool. She is extremely rich, organized and beautiful and she has a light crush on Takahashi Minami.
Maeda Ami (19)Ami is the secretary of Takahashi Minami.
Miyazaki Miho (19)Myao is an employee at Kuramochi Travels. She does not come from a wealthy family and thus is the most comfortable around Takahashi Minami who she admires in secret.
Kashiwagi Yuki (22)Yukirin is an employee at Kuramochi Travels. She comes from a wealthy family and is carefree. Her main occupation is shopping and she doesn’t seem to notice Watanabe Mayu’s feelings for her.
Watanabe Miyuki (19)Milky is an employee at Kuramochi Travels. She comes from a wealthy family and her cousin is Watanabe Mayu.
Investigators & PoliceYamamoto Sayaka (22)Sayanee is a private investigator. She is a specialist when it comes to disguises and known for usually not working with the police or completely legal measures. She became an investigator even though her entire family consists of criminals.
Sashihara Rino (19)Sasshi is Yamamoto Sayaka’s sidekick. She agreed to become the investigator’s assistant when she caught her shoplifting but didn’t inform anyone about it. Even though she is pretty useless and unmotivated she tries her best.
Takajo Aki (25)Aki is a Detective and in charge of the CoF case.
The Yokoyama OrganisationYokoyama Yui (19)Yuihan is the illegitimate daughter of a corrupt politician. She is CoF’s current target.
Shimazaki Haruka (19)Paruru is Yokoyama Yui’s maid.
Sato Amina (20)Amina was Yokoyama Yui’s maid. She was killed by Maeda Atsuko.
OthersMinegishi Minami (21)Miichan is a restaurant owner. She is loud and crazy and even though her food at
The Old Coin looks disgusting it’s actually great. Her best friend is Takahashi Minami who she would do anything for. As she tried to rescue her she got caught in an explosion, her current state is unknown.
Watanabe Mayu (17)Mayuyu is a high school student. She skips school a lot because she gets bullied. She flirts with Kashiwagi Yuki who is oblivious to her feelings.
Kojima HarunaHaruna was Oshima Yuko’s lover.
Furukawa Airi, Takyanagi Akane, Hata SawakoAiri, Akane and Sawako snuck into the CoF headquarters a few years ago, thinking it was a haunted factory. The caught some of the assassin’s activity on tape, mistaking the noises from the arms for supernatural activity. In order to make sure that the factory stays out of the news they were killed by Oshima Yuko.
Appearing soonKitahara Rie
Matsui Jurina
Matsui Rena
Itano Tomomi
Topic: (Feb 12) Killer Queen: Chapter 9 (Atsumina) (Read 59380 times)