Chapter one / Danger Days AU.

Words: 1,260

In this chapter, they're 16 and their partnership's just weeks fresh. Huge thanks to rad-megucas for pushing me to write! Fruity. Here's Mari and Asuka as Killjoys.

This is it; they're fucked up.

Mari's holding her gun on her left hand and her bomb on the other, and Asuka's just gripping her gun so hard the paint's cracking beneath her nails, clinging to the palms of her gloves. Then she snarls.

"Mari, take the ones with blue and I take the ones with red," Asuka whispers and inhales, her feet shuffling to a better stance.

"Wait they all have that colo-"

Asuka shoots a goon right between the eyes and it falls; breaking the circle and breaking the silent tension in the air. Metal and flesh splats to the ground and Mari starts to yell at nothing as she shifts her body to the side, her feet colliding with the goons with the motor oil dripping off its mouth.

Oh yeah, Asuka's kind of color-blind in bad situations… black and white, red and blue.

Mari moves her gun to the side of the motor-oil-mouthed goon and pulls the trigger, grunting as she feels the air behind her shift.

"You really leave your partner like that? What, you really want me dusted that bad? Cool, I trusted you."

And Asuka yells back with a dry throat, "no, you dumbass! I'm going to finish this!"

Mari just sees dust behind Asuka, and she loses her focus.

She feels a goon punch her gut, and one bit her arm and tore the clothes off of it. She feels oil; she feels blood on the exposed skin.

But the cold mechanical teeth are prominent…

Asuka shifts to DRIVE and stomps on the gas pedal. Her gun's reloaded now, she has bombs, and she has what she could use to bring them to hell.

Asuka sees fresh blood on the teeth of the goons. She panics, she panics.

She turns the car a bit and her foot applies pressure on the gas.
—

Asuka stares at the sand. There was one time when Misato and Ritsuko told them that the earth and its creatures were built on red earth. Red dirt; like bloodied soil. It's the color of blood.

Asuka hates seeing this, seeing Mari bleed.

Seeing Mari with her skin so bare, damaged, so, too raw.

The sand beneath Mari's just too red, it's shaking her nerves.

Asuka kneels down and moves her hand under Mari's legs and slithers the other under Mari's spine, and she lifts. She almost fails; almost. She caught Mari's arm and other leg just soon enough.

She really was never too good at handling other people and their heavy bones, heavy organs, and their heavy lives…

But she has always loved the color red.

Asuka pokes at her paste meal. Who knew instant ramen would be something she'd miss?

She'd rather watch the Ikaris live than eat this.

But, like Mari said; 'It's for your own good! Think about me! Who will be my partner?'

But unlike every fucking one of the crew, Asuka doesn't think that the normal people's foods are acid-laced.

But still. She's going to eat this slop. Just not now, she has yet to get over the initial disgust.

She looks down to the foot of the bed and sees a dark strap peeking out from under the sheet.

Asuka's curiosity knocks and she bends down and tugs it out, only to find something she hasn't seen in a while; her violin.

She stares. Has it been under her bed all this time?

(Even if it was, there was never a time when she had the courage to look under her bed. Monsters reside under her, and those monsters only bring back wide, blue eyes looking down at her and the feeling of hands on her neck, squeezing. Those eyes used to be so clear and decisive; and Asuka would curl into herself. Those monsters are her own.)

She lifts it and drops it on her lap; the dust floats up and she coughs, waving her hand in front of her face. So much dust, it reminds one of ashes.

She sweeps the dust to the ground and flicks her hand to get rid of the dust sticking to her gloves. She looks to what's in front of her; her partner.

"Don't wake up right now, okay four-eyes?"

She removes her gloves, and then pulls off the Velcro lock on the violin case, trying to be as quiet as possible. She unzips it and opens, her eyes seeing it's reflection on the violin. It's filled with fingerprints and little fibers; it's not as shiny as it was. Her bow is loose, and the horse hair is dusty and sticky when she slides her thumb on it.

"I'm not playing for you."

She unlocks the restraints and lifts it to her collarbone. It's just a little bit too small, and the top string is a little out of tune, but she's not in the perfect condition right now, either. So, she puts her chin on the rest and tightens her bow, and she tries to play a tune; a lullaby.

—

Asuka hears skin slapping on skin and her reflexes act fast; dropping the violin down and looking for her gun. Her hands travel to her holster, and she breathes when she feels the cracking paint. She grabs it and stands up, and looks behind her. She points her gun straight to the door.

It's still going.

She panics, thinking about how maybe it's in her head. Maybe it's there. she deems herself too young to be a lunatic, but then again, she's 16 and she's living with a bunch of rebels in a crapsack world… It's in her head, it's like thunder in a storm-

But then she hears the ring of Mari's laughter in her ears and she turns to look at the bed.

"Hmm, you forgot the noises that indicate human life and approval again," Mari says, smiling right at her. Her still intact arm swung up and her fingers pry open the glasses in her hand, fitting it slowly on her face. The feline smile creeps in slowly.

Asuka groans and slams herself down the seat again, her brows furrowed as Mari giggles.

"I sacrificed my car back there and you just laugh, okay." Asuka says, her voice laced with a snarl.

"Wait shit, seriously? Well I lost like, half of my upper arm here because my partner left me in a battle, 'cause she was trying to prove herself. Please hold." Mari says with a tone that makes her sound like she really didn't feel bad, like she's the one saying sorry.

Asuka feels like something in her stomach got tied up then sunk at its own weight. Maybe it's her intestines. Her face reacts with an angry expression, though.

"Your lullaby was nice though. Good apology."

Asuka's eyes snap to Mari, just when she noticed that she was looking at her own fidgeting hands.

"It wasn't for you! Unhear it!"

"Hah, really. Then who were you playing for here?"

"No one! Myself!" Asuka spits, her feet planted flat on the ground.

"I'll accept that. One condition though," Mari turns her head a little bit more to look at Asuka more sharply, "let me be your partner. Don't leave me like that."

Asuka swore, really. When Mari recovers from that wound, she's going to put acid in her ears, and maybe in her mouth. This girl only "knew" her for two years and she's getting under her skin, her layers. It ticks in her head like a clock that never moves.

Asuka couldn't help but think about eating an acid apple, chewing it. And then passing into Mari's mouth; a kiss of death.