Alex’s been in plenty of fights before, scraps between the gang's youth, kids playing turf wars trying to mimic their role models. She’s made a few begrudged friendships even, Vicktor from La Casa De Los Vivos for example, or Li Chen of the Wolves. She’s even been on the periphery of a few gunfights, close enough to be in the danger zone at least. But she’s never been in the center of one, and she’s certain that neither of her friends have either. If any of them survived such a thing they’d be boasting nonstop and be absolutely insufferable for months (to be fair, so would she). So it is that they stand in the middle of the ramp, weapons drawn and shaking like leaves.
Aki has his Katana sheathed, but that’s no surprise, he needs both hands to operate the Ramus after all. Max, surprising no one, left stating that he would pick them up once it was safe. Somehow she doubts that, no offence to Max, but their chances of surviving this are slim at best, and waiting here would just get him killed as well. Why then did they agree to face potentially multiple followers of Truth? They had the guns after all, they could have forced Max to keep driving.
Honour
They were hired for a job and so they’ll do their part to complete it, even if it means being a glorified distraction. Doesn’t mean they can’t be scared while they do it though. As the green Falcon rounds the corner, Alex hitches her breath.
That’s too much chrome, only the Ramus stands a chance.
There’s no shooting, because each of them knows that to do so would be a death sentence. They watch as the two of their would-be killers exit the vehicle, a woman with a mohawk of spikes made of metal and three pairs of eyes alongside a man who just sports one big eye on his fully chromed head.
Both of them are carrying heavily modified semi-automatics, Alex even recognized the brand.
Kuruki
Not the best, not the worst. The calm parts at the edges of her mind inform her. Kuruki only dabbles in firearms, their main interests being in R&D for bionics.
It’ll still kill though
“Don’t look so scared, kids, we only want to know what your friend in the suspicious looking car was doing on our turf” Says Mohawk with the distinct reverb of an altered larynx “you’d do that for old Mary now, won't you?”
Their Kuruki’s aren’t even pointed at them, resting on shoulders or pointed at the ground. Makes sense, they stand no chance in a proper shoot-out. Their arms are exposed and fully chromed, and Alex can only assume that they’re packed full with sub-dermal armor. Any resistance they could manage would merely be an inconvenience to these monsters.
Akihiro levels the Ramus at them.
“Even if I knew” he growls “I wouldn’t tell you, now leave before your guts meet the pavement”
“Oh that’s good” says the Cyclops “you get that from a movie? You’ll have to tell me the title, before we kill you of course”
That gets him a sharp look from Mohawk.
“What?” he whines “todays been fucking boring, now I got a kid acting like some high-profile merc using cheesy lines trying to scare us away. At least let me have some fun.”
Mohawk sighs before turning back to them “so am I to assume you don’t know anything then?”
“Yes” Alex says before Akihiro can dig their graves any further.
“Mmmh, that’s not good. As a matter of fact that’s very, very bad” say’s Mohawk “do you at least know who he was?”
He? How would they know that?
“Called himself Max” she says, to which Mohawk lets out a cackle.
“And you believe that?”
“No”
“Good. Good, got some brains after all. Was worried for a second considering you’re playing merc underequipped in another gang's home” She says tilting her head “So, blue eyes, black hair, gunmetal arms, slight tan? I get that right?”
Her question is met with silence, and a smile spreads across Mohawk's face as her many eyes flicker to gold for a few seconds, then return back to their emerald green.
“Your dedication to the bit is admirable little dragons, but you really need to work on your poker faces.”
“Can I kill them now?” asks the Cyclops.
There is a moment, it passes just like any other might.
But Alex could have sworn it stretched for an eternity.
“Hmmm, no. would leave a sour taste in my mouth.They kinda got fucked for taking a job that should have gone to proper mercs” Mohawk says, and Alex can feel the relief wash over her body “how much was he paying you anyway?”
The three trade glances in a silent war, Sasha and Alex making a tentative alliance and gang up on Aki for getting them caught up in this shit.
“Five-hundred each” he says, deflated.
The gaze of the borgs bore into them, the cylindrical view port of the Cyclops somehow has depth in their judgement, while Mohawk just seems…disappointed? They stay like that, just staring at them, for a long time. Alex can’t help the heat rising to her cheeks out of the embarrassment of it all.
“Damn, even I feel bad now” says the Cyclops “c’mon Mary, let’s get out of here, I’m starting to feel pity and it is disgusting”
“I’m sure it is big guy, I’m sure it is” she says before turning back to them “Good luck on the way back little dragons, and next time, when you go on a suicide mission, take a job that’s at least worth dying for”
The two of them sit back down in their car, they pull off the ramp, before leaving the lot and the three friends behind. Alive and in one piece.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Aki sighs “Ellie’s going to be so pissed”
Both the girls whirl on to him
“Seriously?”
-
“You’re supposed to be the smart one!” Sasha raves “our brains, our strategist, our negotiator. Instead you fucking provoke the walking death machines and leave Alex to answer the questions, fucking Alex!”
“You’re welcome” she grumbles
Aki wilts under the pressure, he’s been very quiet since getting off the phone with Ellie. She wasn’t that disappointed in him, but Aki still took it pretty hard. He sees himself as her protogé, and failing her probably hurts a lot more than Sasha’s lecture.
She almost feels bad for him. Almost.
“Well, say something for yourself,” Sasha presses.
“I don’t know” Aki mumbles “ I thought if I showed them we meant business they’d back off. You know, like how a bear gets spooked when you stand your ground”
“Pretty sure that doesn’t work for all bears” Alex comments
“What she said!”
He sighs “I’m…sorry guys. We shouldn’t have taken the job in the first place. If i knew the Bastion was actively hunting him, I wouldn’t have even considered it”
Alex doesn’t know what to do in the face of such frank vulnerability, luckily for her she doesn’t have to do anything as Sasha takes the reins.
“Well good, you should be” she says “next time do some research before taking a job. Even if it steps on our clients toes, it’s better than ending up dead.”
“Next time?” Aki echoes
“Yes, next time.” she nods “you’re the only one who's got actual connections with the gang. Me and Alex are just muscle heads.”
“Speak for yourself”
Akihiro gathers himself, an expression besides despondency taking over since their brush with death.
“Alright” He says, determined “I promise”
-
Getting back to the crossroads wasn’t all that complicated, they weren’t even that far into Bastion territory when the borgs stopped them. If nothing else, then that proved that Max’s choice in vehicle was questionable. None of them were even injured, so they didn’t have to deal with Clarice!
It’s the little things.
“Hey, you guys wanna spar?” Sasha asks as they climb up the stairs to their rooms “I’m all jittery after that stand off, and I don’t think I can sleep without working some of it off”
“Stand off is a generous interpretation” Alex replies “but sure, I’d be down”
Both pairs of eyes turn to Aki, who just waves them off “I’ll pass, feels like I’ll pass out just climbing these stairs”
“Wimp.”
“Gorilla.”
-
To Alex’s surprise, there’s two other pairs sparring on the rooftop as she and Sasha emerge from the stairwell. They don’t pay attention to their arrival, continuing their bouts, Alex recognizes all of them. They’re all older residents, the ones that’ll be sent off to one of the megastructures under the Dragons influence or patrolling along the borders to protect the interests of the gang. She has a begrudging respect for them, they’re clearly stronger than her, and soon they’ll get to prove their worth.
She’s downright jealous.
As Alex and Sasha take their corner, they start the familiar rhythm before ramping up the intensity. This time Alex sticks to what she’s good at, parrying and dodging, going for the occasional counter when there’s an opportunity. She’s surprisingly calm considering she almost died today, or maybe it's because she almost died?
Anyway, her passivity allows Sasha to enter her own flow state, sending a flurry of strikes with impressive speed and force. Alex gets more hits overall, but Sasha’s strikes are devastating in comparison. Alex can feel her bones creak with every hit.
The two girls can’t help but smile.
They couldn’t spar properly because of Alex’s brashness and Instructor Korin’s interruption, but now? Now they’re like machines, hacking away at each other with ferocious glee. It’s moments like these that remind Alex why she wants to be a Scar so bad.
-
Both of them sit, bruised and a little bloodied, staring at the traffic below as they catch their breath. Enjoying one another's company after the intense sparring, before they muster the energy to head back.
“Impressive” they both turn to see Hiroshi staring down at them, arms crossed “most of the other’s shy away from pain. Not realizing that the streets will show neither kindness nor compassion.”
Alex looks into the boy’s hawkish gaze and finds herself shrinking away.
Too intense
“Thanks” Sasha, bless her heart, replies “Where’s Danny?”
“She’s gone back to her room, too tired to keep going”
“So you’ve just been watching us? That’s a little creepy Hiroshi”
He shrugs “Is it odd that I thought to watch my juniors, in the hopes of imparting some wisdom?”
“Oh, and what might that be?” Sasha asks
“Perhaps if you’d ask nicely I’d be more willing” he replies
Sasha rolls her eyes “Please, oh mighty senior, this junior is lacking in the face of your knowledge. If you could only impart just a sliver, so that I may improve upon my swordsmanship”
He just nods at her clear sarcasm, then he turns to Alex.
She does her utmost not to look like a fool.
“I’d be grateful, Hiroshi.” Good enough
He nods again and turns back to Sasha “you are too reckless, your strikes are heavy, that cannot be argued, but too often do you leave yourself exposed in grand swings when you could accomplish similar results with something simpler. We are training the blade, not the club. Aim to cut, not bash.”
He turns to Alex then “you are too cautious, you rely on your opponent to grant you openings. While that may work against her, a more rounded opponent won’t leave enough opportunities for you to strike. You need to be more active, creating opportunities rather than waiting for them to present one for you.”
He stands silent for a moment, then nods at both of them before heading back to the stairwell. Only once the door closes does Sasha say something.
“You should just ask him out already, it’s his last year and you don’t even have his number”
Alex stammers, and has the unique experience of becoming a tomato.
“I’ll ask when we’re both Scars” she says resolutely.
“Ambitious”
“What, you don’t think we can do it?”
“I don’t think most of us will live that long”
Alex turns to her with a look of shock and confusion.
Sasha sighs. “C’mon Alex, be realistic. Just because we’ve been trained doesn’t make us bulletproof, the streets are dangerous, especially for fresh blood. We don’t even have family names, despite all the investment we are nothing to them, little flesh bags for the meat grinder. Hell, we almost died today, the only reason we didn’t is cause the borgs felt bad for us. Not any skill on our part, just pity.”
Alex looks at her friend, really looks. She’s smiling a smile that does not feel happy but…resigned. The brown of her eyes look hollow, devoid of their usual mischievous aura.
“Why do you train so hard if you think we’ll just die?” she asks
Sasha shrugs “Because it’s fun, might as well enjoy what I have while I have it. Which is why you should just ask the pompous prick already. Before you can’t anymore”